Category: Destruction and Repression in North Kurdistan

The plight of the 10 HDP MPs goaled since early November 2016 by the Turkish government

As a matter of urgency we draw readers’ attention to the plight of the ten Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) MPs gaoled since early November 2016 by the Turkish government. In particular, we call for action by the British government, parliamentarians and democratic bodies over the life-threatening conditions in which the HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtas is being held. Continue reading “OPEN LETTER TO THE GUARDIAN”→

Report on an emergency visit to HDP MPs in Diyarbakir, Turkey, 18th -20th November 2016 by Julie Ward MEP and Melanie Gingell, barrister

Peace in Kurdistan Campaign

MPs in South-East Turkey have expressed fears that the next step in the repressive, downward spiral in the mainly Kurdish district of South-East Turkey will be a genocide.

Julie Ward, Labour MEP for North West England, and Melanie Gingell, Barrister, visited Diyarbakir in South East Turkey between 18th and 20th November 2016 in response to an urgent call from the HDP in a mission facilitated by Peace in Kurdistan Campaign. Both women have made previous visits to the region, Ward as recently as mid-October 2016. Continue reading “Fear of genocide in South-east Turkey”→

Please find below 4 documents from the HDP setting out information and reactions to the detention of the Diyarbakir co-majors, the court ruling on Figen Yuksekdag, the state of emergency and the speech by Demirtas on 27th October

1. The court ruling on Figen Yüksekdağ is not lawful but arbitrary and political

Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Department for Cultural Heritage and Tourism Report Date: October 7, 2016 The Fortress and inner city of Diyarbakır and the adjacent Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape have maintained the importance of the city for thousands of years because of its strategic location between East and West boundaries. The city has kept many different cultures and also “engraved” them into its fabric. The city, which has been the heart of many civilizations and states in time, had been the regional capital (center) of the empire in the periods of Persian, Roman, Sassanian, Byzantine and Islamic empires because of its geopolitical importance. On that sense, the city is a World Heritage Site with multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-layered structure. The religious architectural structures consisting of its original civil architecture, mosques, the churches and the public buildings such as inns and traditional baths are the cultural assets of the city which can be seen in the urban conservation area. Continue reading “DAMAGE ASSESSMENT REPORT ON SUR”→

05/10/2016 For immediate release PARTÎYA HERÊMÊN DEMOKRATÎK
To the international press and public opinion

Call for solidarity with rule of law, human rights, democracy and freedoms
The Democratic Regions Party (DBP) is a Kurdish political party that works towards developing democracy, human rights, rule of law, freedom and the status of Kurds in Turkey. DBP follows the tradition of the struggle and line of the Kurdish political movement. The Kurdish political movement has been fighting against the status quo and its supporters since the beginning of 90’s. DBP and the Kurdish political movement have a strong tradition of struggle of progressive forces. Continue reading “Call for solidarity with rule of law, human rights, democracy and freedoms- Trial of Kamuran Yuksek.”→

Please make a small video on your phone in support of the academics who are standing with Kurdish people under attack in South-East Turkey and who are losing their jobs and facing prosecution as a result. See below for details.Turkish scholars have been subject to heavy pressures and constraints since the declaration of the petition “We’ll not be a party to this crime” launched by the Academics for Peace initiative in mid-January. In Mersin, a middle-sized city on the Mediterranean Coast, this climate of pressure has been experienced in an accentuated manner as the twenty-one petitioners of the city’s University have since then faced very serious threats and sanctions. Continue reading “Support Turkish Academics under Attack.”→